Visionary contemporary artist Tianzhuo Chen, founder of Asian Dope Boys, is known for his eclectic and multidisciplinary works. As guest curator, Chen brought a immersive narrative to Le Guess Who? 2025, in which ancient traditions are confronted with the realities of colonialism, intertwining music, performance art, choreography and audiovisual installations.
At the festival, Tianzhuo Chen presented the multidisciplinary, multi-layered performance Moyang 先祖 & Seaman 漁師. Chen crafted a strikingly powerful setting, in which choreographer and dancer Siko Setyanto leaded the audience through ancestral invocation and dance improvisation. Together they explored the intersection of ancient traditions with the introduction of expressive dance improvisation to narrate a captivating tale of the encounter of the ancestors and the whale.
In addition to this performance, Tianzhuo Chen curated performances by, amongst others, Shanghai native producer and innovator of the club music scene, 33EMYBW, who performed together with groundbreaking guitarist and pivotal figure in the Chinese noise music scene, Li Jianhong.
Furthermore, performing as part of the curation were DIEMAJIN, consisting of Berlin-based producer DJ DIE SOON and Tokyo-based vocalist MA; ZAÄAR, a Belgian collective who perform psychedelic free jazz with tribal-surrealist soundscapes designed to be incredibly hypnotizing; and HULUBALANG, a musical project by electronic producer Gabber Modus Operandi, exploring the historical conflict history of Indonesia.
Spanning rave and dark sounds to jungle and reggae, Japanese producer GOTH-TRAD presented a set that was "impossible to walk away from", according to Full Moon Magazine.
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Note: Tianzhuo Chen's curation also featured singer, musician and activist Nova Ruth, audiovisual artist Joey Holder, sound artist Sara Persico and electro-acoustic composer and multidisciplinary artist Mika Oki.
Photography by Juri Hiensch
